A 12-year-old girl, who was forcibly married to a 35-year-old man by her parents in a village in Telangana's Rangareddy district, was rescued on Monday, May 16, police said. The girl was married to a distant relative at Velicherla in Keshampet mandal near Shadnagar, about 60 km from Hyderabad three days ago. The girl's family hails from Papireddyguda and her parents reportedly took her to a neighbouring village saying they are attending a birthday function. However, after reaching the house, she was forcibly married to the nephew of her mother.
Upset over this, the girl left her house and went to the house of a relative. The girl's parents also reached there and had an argument with the relatives. In the meantime, the girl left from there to an undisclosed location. After some residents of the village alerted Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) officials, the latter lodged a complaint with the police. The police on Monday traced the girl and sent her to a Sakhi centre, a state-run home for women and children.
Police and ICDS officials questioned the girl's parents, who claimed that the bridegroom took her home and married her. Police booked a case under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and also Protection of Children from Sexual Offices (POCSO) Act against him and took up further investigation. ICDS officials, who counselled the girl, found that the marriage was not consummated as she had returned home the same day. According to Hindustan Times, police arrested the 35-year-old man and said that the role of the girl’s parents is being probed. The police also reportedly said that the child had not received any formal education.
Earlier in June 2021, a 14-year-old in Warangal Rural district who had been studying in class 9 at a government school had alerted the Childline (1098) with the help of a friend, that she was being forcibly married off to a 30-year-old man. The Childline officials alerted the local police and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and stopped the wedding.